Decision-making is one of the key elements in every operation of telecom networks. Daily Operational activates perform by the wireless licensed operators are key stone in maintaining network's grade of service and customer satisfaction. The technological progress and the a range of different co exiting radio access technologies and wireless infrastructure vendor's product as well as the increase ramification of the wireless communication networks makes operation and engineering planning decision very complex and multi-dimensional. In addition, the increase in demand for affordable mobile broadband connectivity and data traffic driving the need for centralized operational actions base on comprehensive and progressive data flow detection. This can be generated by a software based decision support system. Taking the necessary decision in the right time using software based multi-layer progressive data flow detection algorithms allow the operator to maximize it networks infrastructure to allow better service and all by reducing the operational cost of each network.
In a typical mobile radio system, Base Stations (BSs) and mobile User Equipment units (UEs) communicate with voice and data signals via a Radio Access Network (RAN) to one or more core networks. BSs are typically mobile base stations, which consist of transceivers and antennas. BS has different type of physical and logical dimensions, for example macro, micro, femto BS and Small cell. The mobile UEs are mobile devices, such as mobile telephones, PDAs, tablets and laptops with mobile termination. The core network is the central part of a telecom network that provides various services to customers who are connected to it.
The RAN covers a geographical area, which is divided into cells, each of which is served by a base station. A cell area is a geographical area, in which radio coverage is provided by the radio equipment in the corresponding base station. Each cell is identified by a unique identity, which is broadcasted by the cell. The base station communicates over the air interface (e.g., using radio frequencies) with the mobile UEs within the cell area. In typical RANs, several base stations are typically connected (e.g., by landlines or microwave channels) to a Radio Network Controller (RNC). The RNC (also known as a Base Station Controller) supervises and coordinates various activities of the plurality of base stations connected to it. The RNCs are typically connected to one or more core networks.
The LTE and LTE-A are the Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems (UMTS) Long Term Evolution, which are standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. It is based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA network technologies, for increasing the capacity and speed using new modulation techniques. This standard is developed by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project). The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation mobile communication system, which evolved from the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and is intended to provide improved mobile communication services, based on Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) technology. Code division multiple access-based systems use a wider frequency band to achieve the same rate of transmission as FDMA (Frequency-Division Multiple Access. In a forum known as the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), telecommunications suppliers proposed and agreed upon standards for third generation networks and Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) specifically. The UTRAN contains mobile base stations (also known as Node Bs and e-Node Bs) and Radio Network Controllers (RNCs) and e-RNC. The RNC provides control functionalities for one or more Node Bs/e-NodeBs. Node B contains radio frequency transmitters and receivers used to communicate directly with the mobile UEs, which move freely around it. In this type of mobile network, the mobile UEs cannot communicate directly with each other but have to communicate with the Node B.
In recent years, mobile networks have become more and more complex. As a result, there is a need for a simple and automated Operation and Maintenance (O&M) system. In order to decrease management costs, to use hardware in the most effective way, and to maximize the spectrum efficiency (which is typically a limited resource), mobile networks are adapted to produce real-time event messages. An event message is a measurement report sent between different components in the mobile network (such as eNBs E-UTRAN Node B, RNC, Node B, UE, for example). Event messages can be categorized to several types, depending on the types of measurements encapsulated within them, and on the network components participating in the messaging process.
Wi-Fi internet networks or Wi-Fi hot spot networks are refers to wireless networking technology that allows computers and other devices to communicate over a wireless signal. It describes all network components that are based on one of the 802.11 standards, including 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n. These standards were developed by the IEEE and adopted by the Wi-Fi Alliance, which trademarked the name “Wi-Fi””
In addition, technological standard organizations such as the 3GPP forum, investigated enhanced ways to control and manage the operation of third generation networks with advance measurement. One result of the forum's work is the UTRAN Iur interface Radio Network Subsystem Application Part (RNSAP) signaling, as described in 3GPP TS 25.423 V3.14.2 (2012), for example. This standard specifies the radio network layer signaling procedures of the control plane between RNCs in UTRAN, in which the transmitted frequency use and power are ones of those measurements.
The 3GPP forum, also selected Local IP Access and Selected IP Traffic Offload (LIPA-SIPTO) as describe in 3GPP TR 23.829 as a method to offload traffic from a wireless communication system operator's core network to a defined IP network that is close to a point of attachment to the access point of a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU). When reference is made to a core network with respect to the data plane, the nodes under consideration include the serving gateway (SGW) and the packet data network gateway (PDW) in, for example, a long term evolution (LTE) compliant system, or the serving general packet radio service (GPRS) support node (SGSN) and gateway GPRS support node (GGSN) in a universal mobile telephone system (UMTS) terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN), although the disclosure herein is not limited to any one network architecture or technology. The designation of SIPTO is to offload some of the IP traffic from traversing these nodes.
Pre-requisite to a dynamic operational decision making is to have a comprehensive data view of all related wireless radio access element. Due to the dynamic nature of the wireless network and the variance use of network's resources at any given geographical time and location, there is a need to perform decision as close as possible to close to the data the operation of any type of RF technology based mobile network. In addition, obtaining the proper permits is the first step in the construction of an outdoor mobile base station. Mobile operators wishing to build such an infrastructure installation must apply for a special-use building permit. This permit allows a structure to meet the local municipality building criteria and to meet the environmental ordinances of the local municipality. Applications for such permits are submitted to the municipal planning board and generally require the approval of the town council, or another local board, at a public meeting.
Today, wireless radio networks operators are looking for ways for dynamically react to the non-heterogeneous, multi-layer network resources demands by their customers. However, such actions present many technical challenges and difficulties. None of the currently available techniques can provide a dynamic solution for multi, mobile and wireless internet, networks satisfying solution to the problem of managing, controlling and ensuring dynamic implementation of network changes in order to assure total operation cost efficiency and comprehensive user grade of service. Therefore, there is a need for a system that provides a continuous and dynamic monitoring and automated decision making execution capabilities for the mobile and wireless internet operators' network elements (core and radio), which allows accurate measurement of network element from multi type/technologies/layer and vendors, in real time.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a software system for automatically and continuously managing the dynamic decision making as well as transferring the decisions into mobility changes.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system for guaranteeing that mobile network operator, which be able to continuously maintain its network's grade of service and at any given time and location.
A further object of the present invention is to accurately pre-detect and thus prevent during the mobile network planning and deployment stage any mobile operators' possible negative network performance effect at the wireless radio access network of its kind as well as at the core network.
Yet another object of the present invention is to accurately and remotely detect any mobile operators' noncompliance, violations and anomalies at mobile sites.
The system proposed by the present invention can provide seamless integration between different sources of data, from several network infrastructure vendors (such as ZTE, HUAWEI, Ericsson, NOKIA-NSN, Alcatel, and Motorola for example).
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a cost-effective system for detecting network resource starvation.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.